Submissions

Author Guidelines

1. General Information

Research and Practice in Couple Therapy is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that publishes original scholarly work in the fields of couple therapy, relational psychology, and clinical practice. Submissions must be unpublished, not under review elsewhere, and prepared according to the formatting requirements detailed below. By submitting to this journal, authors agree to comply with the journal's publication ethics, peer-review policies, and open-access licensing terms.

2. Language and Style

• Manuscripts must be written in clear, scholarly English.

• Authors for whom English is not their first language are encouraged to have their manuscripts reviewed by a professional language editing service prior to submission.

• Use inclusive, non-discriminatory, and gender-sensitive language.

• Manuscripts should follow the conventions of APA Style, 7th edition.

3. Manuscript Structure

Each manuscript must contain the following components in separate sections:

1. Title Page (submitted as a separate file):

   • Title of the article (concise and informative)

   • Full names and affiliations of all authors

   • ORCID IDs

   • Email address of the corresponding author

   • Acknowledgment of funding, if any

   • Conflict of interest disclosure

2. Main Document (anonymous for peer review):

   • Title (again, but no author info)

   • Abstract (150–250 words)

   • Keywords (3 to 6 terms)

   • Introduction

   • Methods

   • Results

   • Discussion

   • Conclusion

   • References

3. Extended Abstract (required, 1000–1500 words):

   • Written in English

   • Includes: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion

4. Tables and Figures:

   • Each on a separate page after the references

   • Numbered consecutively (e.g., Table 1, Figure 1)

   • Include titles and legends

5. Appendices (if applicable):

   • Instruments, scales, or supplementary material

4. Formatting Requirements

• File format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)

• Font:

  • Persian text: B Lotus, size 13

  • English text: Times New Roman, size 12

• Line spacing: 1.5

• Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides

• Page numbers: Bottom center of each page

• Justification: Fully justified for all body text

• Headings: Use APA 7th edition heading levels (1 through 5)

5. In-Text Citations and References

The journal follows APA 7th edition referencing style:

In-Text Citations:

• Single author: (Gottman, 2015)

• Two authors: (Johnson & Greenberg, 2018)

• Three or more authors: (Lebow et al., 2020)

• Direct quotation: (Sue & Sue, 2019, p. 88)

Reference List:

• Must be arranged alphabetically by the first author's surname.

• Use hanging indentation (0.5 inch) for each reference.

• Include DOIs or URLs for all online sources, when available.

Examples:

• Journal article:
  Gottman, J. M. (2015). The science of trust: Emotional attunement for couples. Journal of Couple Therapy, 41(3), 211–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926187.2015.1046672

• Book:
  Johnson, S. M. (2019). Attachment theory in practice: Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) with individuals, couples, and families. Guilford Press.

• Chapter in an edited book:
  Lebow, J., Chambers, A., & Breunlin, D. (2020). Contemporary approaches to couple therapy. In R. L. Miller (Ed.), Handbook of contemporary family psychology (pp. 233–254). Springer.

6. Manuscript Types and Word Limits

Note: Word counts exclude tables, figures, references, and extended abstract.

7. Ethical Compliance and Research Approval

• All research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with ethical standards (e.g., Declaration of Helsinki).

• Ethical approval and participant consent must be clearly stated in the Methods section.

• A statement of ethical compliance is required for all empirical studies.

8. Submission and Review Process

• All manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s online submission system.

• Submissions will be evaluated for originality, methodological rigor, and relevance.

• The journal operates a double-blind peer review process with two or three reviewers per manuscript.

• The average time to first decision is 4–6 weeks.

9. Article Processing Charges (APCs)

An Article Processing Charge (APC) of 1,500,000 Iranian Tomans applies to all accepted articles. This fee covers peer review management, production, online hosting, and archiving. There are no submission fees.

10. Copyright and Licensing

• Authors retain full copyright over their published work.

• Articles are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

• This allows free sharing and adaptation for non-commercial use, provided appropriate attribution is given.